Nation : 500,000-Ton Bridge Raised in S.C.

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Army engineers raised a bridge dangling at a 45-degree angle in the water today in an effort to restore the link to two islands cut off from the South Carolina mainland by Hurricane Hugo 13 days ago.

High tide this morning helped lift the 500,000-ton bridge, and workers used a crane to restore it to its stand.

Officials said they hoped to have the ends of the Ben Sawyer Bridge connected to the road later in the day so that it could be inspected and reopened to traffic Thursday to hurricane-devastated Sullivan's Island and the Isle of Palms.